Join-us call-log and call-answer messages

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides methods, devices, and systems for facilitating an ad-hoc conference. More specifically, a “join-us” concept is employed that links functionality in non-real-time messaging systems with real-time ongoing state of calls information in a communications network. This combines the spontaneity and security of an ad-hoc conference call with the join-as-you-can nature of messaging and reservation of conference bridges.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to communication systems and moreparticularly to ad-hoc conferencing solutions.

BACKGROUND

Often business communications involve consultation with three or moreparties. Today the process of setting up ad-hoc conferences iscumbersome if the party to be joined to the conference does not answerthe phone. Instead of completing the conference with a conference join,the caller must drop the attempted new call leg. Conferencing can befurther complicated if the missed party tries to return the call in themidst of the ad-hoc conference. These return calls are often simplyignored due to the possible disruption of the conference and thepossibility that the caller is calling for a different reason than thetopic of the conference.

There have been some attempts to address such problems. As one example,U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0172045, the entire contents of whichare hereby incorporated by reference, teaches a system for establishinga conference call is provided. The system includes a handset operable tosend a message containing a list of prospective participants for theconference call. The system also includes an application server operableto receive the message and invite at least some of the prospectiveparticipants. The application server is further operable, in response toreceiving an acknowledgement from at least one of the prospectiveparticipants to participate in the conference call, to include the atleast one of the prospective participants in the conference call.

As another example, U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0280464, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, teaches a callmanagement service for a communications system that is configured toautomatically: receive telephone call data identifying a destination endpoint and identifying a source end point; initiate a call-back telephonecall to said source end point to set-up a first call leg responsive toreceiving said telephone call data; initiate a telephone call to saiddestination end point to set-up a second call leg; combine said firstand second call legs together thereby to provide voice communicationbetween said source and destination end points; and transmit call legstatus signals for said voice communication over a separate real-timecommunications connections signaling link to a communications clientassociated with at least one of said end points.

As yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,167,552, the entire contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference, teaches a method for joininga meet-me conference call that includes presenting an option to specifya quorum associated with a meet-me conference call, in response to userinput to an application program co-resident with a terminal. In oneembodiment, the user input includes but is not limited to an indicationthat the user is requesting to join a meet-me conference call. In oneembodiment, the presenting an option to specify a quorum is done inresponse to the user input includes but is not limited to an indicationthat the user is requesting to specify a quorum either at the time atwhich a meet-me call is being scheduled, or at a time prior to a time atwhich a meet-me conference call is to transpire.

As still another example, U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0165810, theentire contents of which are incorporated by reference, teaches a systemand method for initiating a conference call. The method consists of afirst participant initiating a first telephony session with a secondparticipant. The first participant then places the second participant onhold, initiates a second telephony session with a third participant, andinitiates the conference call. A SIP REFER message related to the secondand third participants is sent to an application server. A SIP INVITEmessage is sent to the second and third participants. The firsttelephony session is replaced with a session between the secondparticipant and a conference bridge. The second telephony session isreplaced with a session between the third participant and the conferencebridge.

SUMMARY

Unfortunately, none of the above-referenced solutions efficientlyaddress the problems associated with creating an ad-hoc conference. Morespecifically, none of the above-referenced solutions provide an easy wayfor a caller to send a conference invitation for an ad-hoc conferencewhile they are engaged in another conference call that allows theinitiator to return to the initial communication session while waitingfor a join reply from the conference invitee. They also do not provideany reply options available to the invited party.

These and other needs are addressed by various embodiments andconfigurations of the present invention. The present invention isdirected generally to a system, device, and method for creating anad-hoc conference. Embodiments of the present invention simplify theestablishment of ad-hoc conferences by marking call-log and voicemailcall-answer messages that result when the party to be joined (ad-hocconference invitee) is called with information required for that partyto join later if the call is still in progress. The join operation takesplace as if the call had been established on a pre-arranged conferencebridge, except no bridge number or participant code is required. Inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, themethod generally comprises:

receiving a join-us request from a first user that is currently engagedin a communication session with a second user, wherein an intendedrecipient of the join-us request is a third user;

transmitting the join-us request to the third user; and

allowing the first user to engage in the communication session with thesecond user before the third user responds to the join-us request.

In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention,the implementation of “join-us” functionality employs coordinationbetween a communications feature-server (e.g., a Private Branch Exchange(PBX) server or any other type of communications server used in a hostedenvironment or used by a service provider) and the Call Log application(often in the telephone or server in communication with a telephone) andCall-Answer application (within a voicemail server). This feature willbe explained in the context of a SIP communications network although itmay be implemented using a variety of communications protocols.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to anytangible storage and/or transmission medium that participates inproviding instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium maytake many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, forexample, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readablemedia include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, aCD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any otherphysical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM,solid state medium like a memory card, any other memory chip orcartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other mediumfrom which a computer can read. A digital file attachment to e-mail orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, itis to be understood that the database may be any type of database, suchas relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like.Accordingly, the invention is considered to include a tangible storagemedium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents andsuccessor media, in which the software implementations of the presentinvention are stored.

The terms “determine,” “calculate” and “compute,” and variationsthereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any typeof methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

The term “module” as used herein refers to any known or later developedhardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, orcombination of hardware and software that is capable of performing thefunctionality associated with that element. Also, while the invention isdescribed in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciatedthat individual aspects of the invention can be separately claimed.

The preceding is a simplified summary of the invention to provide anunderstanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is neitheran extensive nor exhaustive overview of the invention and its variousembodiments. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof the invention nor to delineate the scope of the invention but topresent selected concepts of the invention in a simplified form as anintroduction to the more detailed description presented below. As willbe appreciated, other embodiments of the invention are possibleutilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features setforth above or described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance withembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a graphical user interface inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting a first ad-hoc conferencing method inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting a second ad-hoc conferencing methodin accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will be illustrated below in conjunction with an exemplarycommunication system. Although well suited for use with, e.g., a systemusing a server(s) and/or database(s), the invention is not limited touse with any particular type of communication system or configuration ofsystem elements. Those skilled in the art will recognize that thedisclosed techniques may be used in any communication application inwhich it is desirable to create an ad-hoc conference.

The exemplary systems and methods of this invention will also bedescribed in relation to communications software, modules, andassociated communication hardware. However, to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the present invention, the following description omitswell-known structures, network components and devices that may be shownin block diagram form, are well known, or are otherwise summarized.

For purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It should beappreciated, however, that the present invention may be practiced in avariety of ways beyond the specific details set forth herein.

Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein show thevarious components of the system collocated, it is to be appreciatedthat the various components of the system can be located at distantportions of a distributed network, such as a communication networkand/or the Internet, or within a dedicated secure, unsecured and/orencrypted system. Thus, it should be appreciated that the components ofthe system can be combined into one or more devices, such as anenterprise server, a PBX, or collocated on a particular node of adistributed network, such as an analog and/or digital communicationnetwork. As will be appreciated from the following description, and forreasons of computational efficiency, the components of the system can bearranged at any location within a distributed network without affectingthe operation of the system. For example, the various components can belocated in a local server, at one or more users' premises, or somecombination thereof. Similarly, one or more functional portions of thesystem could be distributed between a server, gateway, PBX, and/orassociated communication device.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary communication system 100 will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentinvention. The communication system 100 may comprise a communicationnetwork 104 that facilitates communications between one or morecommunication devices 108.

The communication network 104 may be any type of known communicationmedium or collection of communication mediums and may use any type ofprotocols to transport messages between endpoints. The communicationnetwork 104 may include wired and/or wireless communicationtechnologies. The Internet is an example of the communication network104 that constitutes and IP network consisting of many computers andother communication devices located all over the world, which areconnected through many telephone systems and other means. Other examplesof the communication network 104 include, without limitation, a standardPlain Old Telephone System (POTS), an Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a LocalArea Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Session InitiationProtocol (SIP) network, and any other type of packet-switched orcircuit-switched network known in the art. In addition, it can beappreciated that the communication network 104 need not be limited toany one network type, and instead may be comprised of a number ofdifferent networks and/or network types.

The communication devices 108 may be any type of known communication orprocessing device such as a personal computer, laptop, Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), cellular phone, smart phone, telephone, contact centerresource, DCP phone, analog phone, or combinations thereof. Thecommunication devices 108 may be controlled by or associated with asingle user or may be adapted for use by many users (e.g., an enterprisecommunication device that allows any enterprise user to utilize thecommunication device upon presentation of a valid user name andpassword). In general, each communication device 108 may be adapted tosupport video, audio, text, and/or data communications with othercommunication devices 108. The type of medium used by the communicationdevice 108 to communicate with other communication devices may dependupon the communication applications available on the communicationdevice 108.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, oneor more of the communication devices 108 may comprise a call logapplication 112. The call log application may be a stand-aloneapplication or a module of a larger application such as anothercommunication application, an interface application for a communicationapplication, or an operating system of the communication device 108. Thecall log application 112 may be enabled to store certain dialoginformation during a conference call and utilize such information if auser of the communication device 108 initiates a “join-us” requestduring a particular communication. The join-us request can be created atany time after a third party (not currently a participant to acommunication session between at least two participants) has beenidentified. Once the communication session has ended, the “join-us”invitation may be altered to a “call to sender” invitation since it isno longer possible for the third party to join the communicationsession.

Although not depicted, the communication devices 108 may also include aninternal processor, memory, a user output, a user input, a networkinterface, and other elements traditionally found in communicationendpoints. The call log application 112 may be stored in the memory ofthe communication device 108 and may be executed by the processor of thecommunication device. Inputs for operating the various applicationsstored on the communication device 108 may be received at the user input(e.g., keyboard, touch-screen, pointer device, etc.) and results ofexecuting the various applications on the communication device 108 maybe rendered and displayed to the user via the user output (e.g., CathodeRay Tube (CRT) screen, one or several Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), aLiquid Crystal Display (LCD), a plasma screen, a ringer, a speaker, anyother type of audio output, and combinations thereof). The networkinterface of the communication device 108 may be used to facilitate theconnection between the communication device 108 and the communicationnetwork 104. Examples of network interfaces include, without limitation,a network interface card, a modem, a wired telephony port, a serial orparallel data port, radio frequency broadcast transceiver, a USB port,or other wired or wireless communication network interfaces.

Although only three communication devices 108 are depicted, one skilledin the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention arenot so limited. More particularly, the present invention provides a wayof establishing an ad-hoc conference between two communication devices108 already in a communication session and another party at a thirdcommunication device 108. These additional devices may or may notinclude a call log application 112. Additional communication devices 108may also be added to the communication session on an ad-hoc basis.Utilization of the present invention provides a way for inviting manyparticipants to an ad-hoc conference in a very short amount of timewithout requiring the initiator to wait for a response from theinvitees.

Additionally, a communication device 108 may subscribe to communicationservices offered by a communication feature server 116. As one example,the communication server 116 may correspond to a Private Branch Exchange(PBX) server, although other types of servers may be employed inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. In accordance withat least one embodiment of the present invention, the communicationserver 116 is adapted for user by a particular entity or enterprise, asopposed to one that a common carrier or telephone company operates formany businesses or for the general public. The communication server 116may also be enabled to connect enterprise endpoints to the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) via trunk lines. Because theyincorporate telephones, fax machines, modems, and more, the general term“extension” is used to refer to any end point on the branch.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the communication server 116 may comprise acall log application 112 in addition to or in lieu of call logapplications 112 residing on the communication devices 108. Inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, thecommunication server 116 may manage call logs 112 for many communicationdevices 108 if such devices do not have their own call log 112.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, thecommunication feature server 116 may also be enabled to facilitateconferences between multiple communication devices 108. Thus, thecommunication feature server 116 may comprise a conference bridge thatis secured by certain parameters (e.g., participant codes, dial-innumbers, passwords, etc.).

The communication system 100 may further comprise a voicemail system 120or a number of voicemail systems adapted to act as coverage when a userdoes not answer an incoming call at their communication device 108. Whena call is diverted from the communication device 108 to the voicemailserver 120, the voicemail server 120 is adapted to utilize a call answerapplication 124 to interact with the caller and obtain a message orother types of relevant information from the caller. The caller mayleave a short message as well as their callback number, name, times ofavailability, etc. This information may be stored on the voicemailserver 120 or on a separate database that is readily accessible by thevoicemail server 120. The intended call recipient may then retrieve suchinformation from the voicemail server 120 via their own communicationdevice 108.

With reference now to FIG. 2, an exemplary graphical user interface 204will be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of thepresent invention. The graphical user interface 204 may be displayed toa user via a user output provided on or associated with thecommunication device 108. The graphical user interface 204 may beassociated with a particular communication application or a general userapplication (e.g., an operating system). The graphical user interface204 may be utilized by a user of the communication device 108 to accessand implement various functions in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. The graphical user interface 204 may comprise anumber of user inputs such as a make call input 208, an answer input212, a hold input 216, a conference input 220, a hang-up input 224, atransfer input 228, and/or a join-us input 232. Each of these inputs maybe utilized to administer various call functions offered by thecommunication device 108 and/or other components in the communicationsystem 100.

In addition to its various user inputs, the user interface 204 may alsocomprise an area for depicting current call information 236 and an areafor depicting historical call information 240. Information depicted inthe current call information area 236 may include, but is not limitedto, caller identification information, callee identificationinformation, the number or extension of the caller and/or callee, taginformation (i.e., whether any tags have been associated with thecurrent call), and whether or not join-us functionality has beenimplemented for the current call. As can be appreciated by one skilledin the art a greater or lesser amount of information may be displayed inthe current call information area 236, depending upon user needs,preferences, and/or system settings.

Information depicted in the historical call information area 240includes, without limitation, a missed call log, an incoming call log,an outgoing call log, and a messages log. One or more of these logs mayrender information in various data fields such as a caller/callee numberidentification field 244, a caller field 248, a callee field 252, a tagfield 256, a join-us field 260, and a date/time field 264. Informationmaintained and displayed in the historical call information area 240 maybe managed by the call log application 112 on the communication device108. Alternatively, or in addition, a remote application orfunctionality within the communication server 116 may be responsible forobtaining and managing information depicted in the call logs.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary ad-hoc conferencing method will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentinvention. The method generally begins when a participant in a currentcommunication session decides to initiate a conference call with a thirdparty not currently participating in the communication session (step304). The initiating participant may begin initiating the conferencewith the third party either during call set up of the currentcommunication session or after the communication session has beenestablished (i.e., after a connection has been made between two or morecommunication devices 108). This initial action may be performed whenthe conference input 220 is pressed during an established call by theinitiator of the conference. The initiator may also provide dialinginformation for the third party during this step. All of these actionsmay cause the communication device 108 associated with the initiatinguser to dial a communication device 108 associated with the third party.

At any time the initiator may press the join-us input 232 instead ofpressing the conference input 220 a second time (step 308). While thisis one way of initiating a join-us invitation, there are other possibleways of initiating a join-us invitation without requiring multiple userinputs (e.g., selection of the join-us input 232 twice or selection of aconference input then join-us input 232). For instance, it may bepossible for a communication session participant to initiate a join-usinvitation without being removed from the existing communication sessionmedia. In this example, a participant may select an input on theircommunication device 108 user interface 204 that allows the participantto select a third party and this single input may initiate the join-usinvitation without interrupting the communication session. The thirdparty may be dialed by number or may be selected from an availabledatabase or directory.

When the join-us input 232 is selected, the caller is returnedimmediately to the original call with the expectation that theparty-to-be-added (i.e., the third party) will join if and when they can(step 312). Simultaneously, or shortly thereafter, dialog information iscaptured from the current call (step 316). Dialog information that iscaptured in this step may include, but is not limited to, bridgeidentification information (e.g., by number, address, or any otheridentifier), participant code(s), password(s), initiator identificationinformation, initiator contact information, dialog information,information regarding other participants to the current call (e.g., byincluding current participant roster information in the join-usindicator left with the third party to help determine the size and inferthe importance of the received request), and combinations thereof. Inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, thecaptured identifier is valid only for the duration of the existing livecall. In other words, the join-us request is maintained as long as thecommunication session exists. Once the communication session ends,however, the join-us invitation may be altered to a call back option.This alteration may be executed automatically by the communicationequipment upon determining that the state of the communication sessionhas changed from an active communication session to a communicationsession that has ended (e.g., by subscribing to the ongoing state of thecommunication session and learning that the state has changed).

The method continues with the initiator's communication device 108generating a message that includes some or all of the captured dialoginformation (step 320). In accordance with at least one embodiment ofthe present invention, this transmitted message may correspond to anytype of known SIP message, such as an INVITE message, that includes someor all of the dialog information in the message header. In accordancewith at least one embodiment of the present invention, the dialoginformation may also alter the alerting on the third party'scommunication device 108 to indicate that a “join-us” invitation isactive. Additionally, other presence indicators may be updated in otherapplications. For example, a presence indicator in a particularcommunication application (e.g., Instant Messaging (IM) application,calendaring application, or the like) may be updated to show that theinitiator is on the call and is busy.

Additionally, the captured dialog information is stored in the call logapplication 112 associated with the third party (and also possibly theinitiator) and call answer application 124 (step 324). The updatedsignaling sent to the third party along with the dialog informationcontained therein is used by the call log 112 and call answer 124applications to offer a “join-us” option to the messages/logs left as aresult of the call attempt. Anytime a call-log entry is created for acall where the join-us input 232 has been pressed by an initiatorwhether it be a received call or a missed call, the call log 112 entrycaptures the dialog information so that the call can be rejoined at alater time as long as the call is still active. The call log applicationsubscribes to dialog events to track the life of the call and show alive command button to join the call. Thus, after a “join-us” requesthas been transmitted and the appropriate actions have been taken tocapture and store dialog information, the initiator engages in thecurrent communication session while also waiting for a reply from theinvited third party (step 328). A reply to the join-us request mayinclude having the third party select their join-us input 232, answerthe join-us call (i.e., take their communication device 108 off-hook inresponse to receiving the specialized “join-us” alerting), or somehowprovide a positive indication of a desire to be included in the ad-hocconference/communication session.

If no reply to the “join-us” invitation is received, then the methodcontinues by determining whether the communication session has moved(step 336). If the communication session changes locations (e.g., due tothe addition of more conference participants the conference has to betransferred from a local bridge on a phone to a remote conference bridgeat a larger conference facility) after the join-us invitation has beensent but before the party-to-be-added has accepted the join-usinvitation, a link may be maintained between the prior location of thecommunication session and the new location of the communication session,thereby enabling the party-to-be-added to follow the communicationsession with the join-us invitation. More particularly, the call-loginformation may be updated to reflect the movement of the communicationsession (step 340). The method then returns to step 328 to wait for aresponse from the third party.

If the party-to-be-added (i.e., the third party) selects this commandwhile the dialog of the existing communication session is still active(as determined in step 344), an INVITE-join call will be launched andthe parties in the original call will hear a conference join tone (andpossibly a recorded name) as the new party is added (step 348). If theexisting communication session is already on a public conference bridgerequiring a participant security code (e.g., because there may be otherparticipants who are dialing directly into the existing communicationsession), then the INVITE-join call message may also automatically enterthe participant security code information. Also, if a web conference ispart of the existing communication session, then the INVITE-join callmessage may also tell the joining party about the web conference or mayeven automatically open a web-browser for the joining party, therebyletting the joining party to immediately join the web conference as wellas the other media for the existing communication session.

If the original dialog has ended, the command in the call log changesfrom “Join” to “Call” (step 352). This entry in the call log 112 maystill be used to return the call to the initiator, but it will result ina fresh call, not the joining of an existing conference/communicationsession.

Since the join-us input 232 may be hit at any time by the initiator orthe party-to-be-added, there are several other cases to consider. A fewexamples will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. Themethod depicted in FIG. 4 begins in a similar fashion to the methoddepicted in FIG. 3. More specifically, a conference is initiated betweenat least two users (step 404) and then a “join-us” invitation isgenerated from one of the communication session participants (step 408).After the request is received, the initiator is returned to the originalconference, although the initiator is not required to ever leave thecommunication session (step 412). Then dialog information is capturedfrom the original conference (step 416), transmitted to the invitee viathe invite signaling (step 420), and is stored in the call log 112 andcall answer 124 applications (step 424). The parties to the originalconference are then free to continue engaging in the conference beforethe invitee ever responds to the “join-us” invitation. Thus, the systemwaits to receive a reply from the invitee (e.g., a response to thejoin-us invitation) before processing the join-us request, but stillallows the original communication session/conference to continue (steps428 and 432).

With advanced User Interface capabilities, the “join-us” invitation maybe indicated to the third party even prior to the third party'scommunication device alerting the user (e.g., before the phone begins toring). In this case, it may be possible for the third party to respondto the join-us invitation immediately, even before their device beginsalerting.

If the third party does not respond to the “join-us” invitation thisquickly, the third party device continues to alert until the coveragetimer has fired (step 448). If the coverage timer has not fired, thenthe method returns to step 428. If the call (i.e., “join-us” invitation)is not picked up before the coverage timer fires, the voicemail system(assuming voicemail is the coverage) creates a canned “join-us” messagesimilar to “Leave-word-calling” messages (i.e., a voicemail feature thatallows people within a company to leave a prerecorded message requestingthat their call be returned) handled by voicemail 120. Furthermore, a“join-us” function is implemented based on the coverage type (e.g.,voicemail, secretary, call-log, etc.) used by the invitee.

If the party-to-be-added has coverage to voicemail 120 and voicemail hasanswered at the time the join-us button 232 is pressed by the invitee,the voicemail system 120 captures the dialog information and associatesit with a message left in the mailbox. The voicemail system 120subscribes to the call dialog and adds a new “join the call in progress”option for the invitee if the message is accessed while the dialog(i.e., the other conference call between the original participants isstill active. The “Return Call” option is always available to launch afresh call.

If the party-to-be-added has already answered the call when the join-usbutton 232 is hit by the conference initiator, the party-to-be-addedwill be immediately added to the ad-hoc conference as normal. No entrytones or name announcements accompany the join in this case. The calllog 112 still captures the dialog information allowing the invitee todrop and rejoin as many times as is necessary during the life of theconference dialog. This is particularly useful in cases where theparty-to-be-added loses coverage (e.g., cell phone coverage) and has toreconnect with the communication session.

If the invitee has secretarial coverage that has already answered thecall when the join-us button 232 is hit, the secretary will be added tothe conference and the secretary's call log 112 will show the joininformation. If the secretary chooses to “transfer the call tovoicemail”, the voicemail system 120 will detect the join information inthe voicemail INVITE and create a “Join-us” canned message as describedabove, but the information will be retrieved from the principal'smailbox. Of course a conference initiator may choose to delay hittingthe join-us button 232 until after speaking with the secretary and beingtransferred to voicemail 120 where the invitee's greeting is heard and amessage may be left. In this case the join information is captured alongwith the message left for the invitee. The join-us button will terminatethe voicemail recorded message and leave dialog information along withthe message.

If the invitee's communications equipment is not able to accept thejoin-us request (success may be indicated by acknowledging the updatedsignaling), the calling party or initiator hears an error indicationindicating the “Join-Us” option is not available. The calling party willthen have to use the traditional “conf” and “drop” commands to managethe establishment of the conference.

While the above-described flowchart has been discussed in relation to aparticular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes tothis sequence can occur without materially effecting the operation ofthe invention. Specifically, a device can address a third party withoutleaving an existing communication session as long as signaling andaddressing occurs outside the audio channel. Additionally, the exactsequence of events need not occur as set forth in the exemplaryembodiments. The exemplary techniques illustrated herein are not limitedto the specifically illustrated embodiments but can also be utilizedwith the other exemplary embodiments and each described feature isindividually and separately claimable.

The systems, methods and protocols of this invention can be implementedon a special purpose computer in addition to or in place of thedescribed communication equipment, a programmed microprocessor ormicrocontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element(s), an ASIC orother integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wiredelectronic or logic circuit such as discrete element circuit, aprogrammable logic device such as PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, a communicationsdevice, such as a phone, any comparable means, or the like. In general,any device capable of implementing a state machine that is in turncapable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein can be usedto implement the various communication methods, protocols and techniquesaccording to this invention.

Furthermore, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented insoftware using object or object-oriented software developmentenvironments that provide portable source code that can be used on avariety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, thedisclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware usingstandard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware isused to implement the systems in accordance with this invention isdependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, theparticular function, and the particular software or hardware systems ormicroprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized. Thecommunication systems, methods and protocols illustrated herein can bereadily implemented in hardware and/or software using any known or laterdeveloped systems or structures, devices and/or software by those ofordinary skill in the applicable art from the functional descriptionprovided herein and with a general basic knowledge of the computer andcommunication arts.

Moreover, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in softwarethat can be stored on a storage medium, executed on a programmedgeneral-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller andmemory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like. Inthese instances, the systems and methods of this invention can beimplemented as program embedded on personal computer such as an applet,JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server or computerworkstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated communication systemor system component, or the like. The system can also be implemented byphysically incorporating the system and/or method into a software and/orhardware system, such as the hardware and software systems of acommunications device or system.

It is therefore apparent that there has been provided, in accordancewith the present invention, systems, apparatuses and methods forfacilitating an ad-hoc conference. While this invention has beendescribed in conjunction with a number of embodiments, it is evidentthat many alternatives, modifications and variations would be or areapparent to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts. Accordingly,it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications,equivalents and variations that are within the spirit and scope of thisinvention.

1. A conferencing method, comprising: receiving a join-us request from afirst user that is currently engaged in a communication session with asecond user, wherein an intended recipient of the join-us request is athird user; transmitting the join-us request to the third user as a callfrom the first user to the third user; and allowing the first user toengage in the communication session with the second user before thethird user responds to the join-us request.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the intended recipient of the join-us request further comprisesat least a fourth user, the method further comprising: transmitting thejoin-us request to the at least a fourth user as a call from the firstuser to the fourth user; and selectively connecting the third user andthe at least a fourth user to the communication session based on theirrespective response to the join-us request.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: retrieving dialog information related to thecommunication session; and including the dialog information in thejoin-us request.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: storingthe dialog information in a call log associated with the third user;subscribing, by a communication device associated with the third user,to dialog events of the communication session; generating a join-usresponse input; and displaying the join-us response input on thecommunication device associated with the third user.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: determining that the third user hasselected the join-us response input; determining a state of thecommunication session; and initiating a call from the third user to thefirst user, wherein the communication session is determined to be in anactive state and wherein the dialog information is used to initiate thecall from the third user to the first user.
 6. The method of claim 3,wherein dialog information comprises at least one of bridgeidentification information, a participant code, a password, contactinformation associated with the first user, information related to atleast one of the first and second participant, and contact informationassociated with the second user.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a response to the join-us request from the thirduser; determining whether the communication session is in an activestate; and preparing a communication from the third user to the firstuser and conditioning the communication based on the determination ofwhether the communication session is in an active state.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: subscribing to state information for thecommunication session; determining that the state of the communicationsession has changed from a first state to a second different state; andaltering the join-us request to reflect the change in state of thecommunication session.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:alerting the third user with a specialized alert that indicates to thethird user that the incoming call is a join-us request.
 10. The methodof claim 9, further comprising: determining that a coverage timer hasfired for the third user; sending the join-us request to coverage; andconditioning possible response options to the join-us request based onthe type of coverage to which the join-us request has been sent.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the coverage type comprises voicemail andwherein the dialog information is captured and stored in voicemail, themethod further comprising: bridging the third user to voicemail;receiving a response to the join-us request from the third user; andjoining the third user to the communication session with at least one ofan entry tone and recorded name, wherein the voicemail provides the atleast one of an entry tone and recorded name as the third user joins thecommunication session.
 12. A computer readable medium comprisingprocessor executable instruction operable to perform the method ofclaim
 1. 13. A communication device associated with a first user, thefirst communication device configured to connect with a secondcommunication device associated with a second user thereby establishinga communication session between the first and second users, the firstcommunication device being further configured to receive a join-usrequest from the first user that is currently engaged in thecommunication session, transmit the join-us request as a call to a thirdcommunication device associated with a third user, and allow the firstuser to engage in the communication session before the third userresponds to the join-us request.
 14. The device of claim 13, wherein anintended recipient of the join-us request further comprises at least afourth user, and wherein the first communication device is furtheroperable to transmit the join-us request to the at least a fourth userwhile simultaneously transmitting the join-us request to the third user.15. The device of claim 13, wherein the first communication device isfurther operable to retrieve dialog information related to thecommunication session, and include the dialog information in the join-usrequest.
 16. The device of claim 15, wherein the dialog information isstored in a call log associated with the third user that allows thethird communication device to subscribe to dialog events of thecommunication session.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein duringsubscription to the dialog events, the third communication device isoperable to determine that the third user has selected the join-usresponse input, determine a state of the communication session, andinitiate a call to the first user, wherein the communication session isdetermined to be in an active state and wherein the dialog informationis used to initiate the call from the third user to the first user. 18.The device of claim 15, wherein dialog information comprises at leastone of bridge identification information, a participant code, apassword, contact information associated with the first user,information related to at least one of the first and second participant,and contact information associated with the second user.
 19. The deviceof claim 13, wherein the third communication device is further operableto receive a response to the join-us request from the third user,determine whether the communication session is in an active state, andprepare a communication to the first user and condition thecommunication based on the determination of whether the communicationsession is in an active state.
 20. The device of claim 13, wherein thethird communication device is further operable to subscribe to stateinformation for the communication session, determine that the state ofthe communication session has changed from a first state to a seconddifferent state, and in response to making such a determination, alterthe join-us request to reflect the change in state of the communicationsession.
 21. The device of claim 13, wherein the first communicationdevice is further operable to prepare a specialized alert for the thirduser that indicates to the third user that the incoming call is ajoin-us request.
 22. The device of claim 13, wherein after a coveragetimer has fired for the third user the join-us request is sent tocoverage and possible response options to the join-us request areconditioned based on the type of coverage to which the join-us requesthas been sent.
 23. The device of claim 22, wherein the coverage typecomprises voicemail and wherein the dialog information is captured andstored in voicemail such that the third communication device is bridgedto voicemail when a response to the join-us request is received from thethird user.